Everything Is Different Here
by some1lostme
Summary: AU. Grissom and Sara see a new future after facing a new beginning. AN: This is an AU fic and the characters are OOC. If that's not your thing, DON'T read this fic. Chapter Two is up. Sorry it took so long... GSR (WIP)
1. Excuse Me

"Excuse me," the woman said, startling Judy from the form she'd been filling out. She looked up as the woman asked, "Can you tell me where Gil Grissom's office is, please?"

"Do you have an appointment?" the receptionist asked.

"No, I don't. But just tell him Sara Sidle is here," the woman smiled, "He'll want to see me."

She noticed the questioning look on the receptionist's face as she reached for the phone.

"Yes, Dr. Grissom, there's a young woman here to see you," Judy said, "She said you'd want to see her. Sara Sidle."

Sara watched the young receptionist nod a couple of times before she hung up the phone, "He'll be out in a moment, miss."

"Thank you," Sara said, turning to examine the lab setting around her.

It was the most unique crime lab she'd ever been in, and she had visited a few. She watched many lab techs as they worked through the glass walls of the labs. Most labs kept their labs and equipment hidden, but procedures were clear to any observer on the other side of these walls.

"Sara Sidle."

Sara turned around, unable to fight the grin plastered on her face. Her brown hair rested in soft curls on her shoulders and she obviously hadn't made an attempt to cover the bruising around her eye. Grissom stepped up to her, his hand immediately reaching for her face. Sara leaned away.

"I'm fine, Gil," she said immediately, taking his hand in her own.

He didn't look too certain about that but he smiled in spite of it, pulling her into his arms. The smell of her hair invaded his senses and so many memories came floating back to him. He held her tighter.

They stood that way for a long moment, both of them lost in their embrace. Sara felt the tears building in her eyes and she was forced to swallow the lump building in her throat. Her hands tightened into fists in the material of Gil's shirt and she turned her face into his neck as the first wave of tears fell. She felt him shift as the hot tears hit his skin but he didn't let her go. His hands began making paths up and down the length of her back as she cried against him.

When he tears finally subsided a few minutes later, Sara pulled away, wiping hastily at her wet face.

"God, I'm sorry, Griss," she said with a hoarse voice, "I don't know where that came from."

His heart leapt at her use of his nickname, it always sounded better when it came from her lips. She feigned a smile as she continued to wipe at her eyes. He took her by the hand, glancing over at Judy, giving the receptionist a knowing look, before leading Sara away to his office.

With Grissom's hand on her lower back, Sara let him steer him in the direction of a small corner office. _His office, _Sara thought, sitting in one of the chairs opposite his desk. The thought of being alone with him in a confined space made Sara's heart skip a little. The last time they had been alone she had cheated on her fiancé the night before they're wedding. The thought caused Sara to glance down at her left ring finger. She twisted the band there.

Gil didn't speak as he took a seat across from her, leaning forward on his desk. He watched her play with her wedding band, silently wishing he had been the one responsible for putting it there, but he wasn't, and he was sure that wasn't why she had come to him.

"Sara, not to say that I'm not happy to see you, honey," Gil began, "But what are you doing here?"

Sara looked up, smiling again, sincerely this time, "I got a job here."

"A job? As an investigator?" he asked, somewhat confused, "I think I would know if they were hiring a new investigator, Sara."

Sara shook her head, "No, as a professor. I'm going to teach Physics at UNLV."

"Sara, really, I had no idea that you wanted to teach," Gil said, seemingly surprised.

Sara shrugged, "I didn't really know I wanted to do it either until I got the job. Sam was asked to head up the Mathematics department, so I needed a job. And UNLV is looking for a new Physics professor."

"When did you get out of the investigative field, Sara?" he asked, "I thought you were working as a CSI in San Francisco."

"I was," Sara said, hesitating slightly, "But Sam asked me to get out of it."

Sara looked away and Gil could tell there was more to the story.

"So the two of you are moving here permanently?" Gil asked, his eyes brightening at the thought.

"We are," Sara said, turning back to him. They shared a private moment.

The knock on the door startled them both and Gil looked past Sara to the door.

"Oh, sorry Boss, Cath just wanted me to let you know that Brass is bringing our suspect in as we speak," Nick informed him, glancing quickly at the woman sitting in the office.

"Nick Stokes, this is Sara Sidle," Gil said, "Sara, Nick Stokes."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Sidle," Nick said, reaching a hand out to Sara. She stood, shaking his hand and smiling.

"It's Mrs. Turner, actually, so just Sara will do."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Sara."

"You, too, Nick."

Nick nodded to Grissom before turning and heading down the hall. They sat silently for another moment before Gil stood and moved around the desk.

"Why don't you follow me? I'll introduce you to the rest of the team, show you around the lab," he said, reaching for Sara's hand.

She smiled, taking his hand, and following him out into the hall.

Gil lead Sara from lab to lab, explaining new pieces of equipment that she didn't recognize, briefing her on current cases that were being worked on, talking to her freely. They fell into an easy routine of asking each other random questions.

They stopped in the break room for coffee.

"Sara Sidle, this is Catherine Willows, her husband Warrick Brown, Holly Gribbs and you already met Nick," Gil said as they found the rest of the night shift around the table, "Guys, this is Sara Sidle, an old friend of mine."

Sara smiled for them and took the seat Nick pulled out for her. Gil made her a cup of coffee, black, just the way she liked it, and joined them all at the table.

"So, Sara, how long have you known Gil?" Catherine asked, sipping her own coffee slowly.

Sara glanced at him. He smiled and shrugged.

"About twelve years, I think," she said, "I was twenty when I went to the first seminar at Harvard, so yeah, twelve years."

"Harvard, huh?" Warrick asked, arching an eyebrow at her, "What'd you major in in the Ivy League?"

Sara smiled. These people, Grissom's crew, were having fun interrogating her. She had heard all about them. Nick Stokes was her age, an ex-cop from Dallas. Gil liked him, but he found him to be a little too cocky sometimes. Warrick Brown was a great CSI, according to Gil. He'd had a gambling problem once, but it had dissolved into nothing when Catherine had agreed to marry him. Holly Gribbs was the newest member to the team, the first one added after Gil had been made supervisor. If Sara remembered correctly, her mother was also in Law Enforcement.

Then there was Catherine Willows. The one woman that Gil talked about the most, she was an ex-stripper. She had stopped dancing, gone to UNLV and gone on to become a very successful investigator. And Gil liked her. Not romantically, of course, because she was married and happy. But they were good friends. Sara liked her for that reason alone.

"Theoretical physics," Sara said, "My number one passion in life."

The others laughed and Sara smiled again.

"If you don't mind me asking," Catherine said, "How'd you get that shiner?"

Sara's hand immediately went to her eye and she shrugged, "Accident. I'm not as graceful as I look. There are downfalls to having long legs."

That received a few chuckles but Sara noticed that Gil was not laughing. He was staring down into his coffee cup and she knew that he wasn't buying her excuses. _What am I supposed to say? _She thought, _I can't just tell them all that my husband got drunk and hit me when I wouldn't get him another fucking beer._ She felt tears forming in her eyes again but she struggled to hold them back.

"What do you do for a living, Sara?" Holly asked.

Sara looked at the woman. They were probably close to the same age and she even noticed a slight resemblance between them. The curly brown hair, the eyes, she was a beautiful woman.

"I used to work as one of you guys out in the lab in San Francisco. My husband and I just bought a house out in Hendersen," Sara told them, "And I'm going to start teaching at UNLV in the fall. My husband, Sam, was offered a position in the History department there so I thought maybe I should look into teaching."

"Well, from what I've heard, you learned from the best," Catherine said, throwing a glance in Grissom's direction.

He smiled at her.

"What can I say," Sara laughed, "I was lucky."

They all laughed lightly, Nick adding, "We all were."

The group of them sat and chatted lightly for a few more minutes before a new arrival stole their attention away.

"I hate to break up the love-fest boys and girls, but we just got a multiple homicide. The director is calling for all hands on deck."

The older man disappeared down the hall and Sara assumed that he was Jim Brass, another one of Gil's close friends. One of the very few that she knew he had.

As the rest of the nightshift said their goodbyes to Sara, Gil stood back and waited to have a moment alone with her. He watched Holly, Nick and Warrick file out, leaving Catherine behind to give him a look.

"Go ahead, Catherine, I'll be right behind you," he told her, stepping up beside Sara.

He waited until Catherine was out of sight before he placed both of his hands on Sara's upper arms, staring into her eyes as though he would find the answers there.

"Are you going to be all right?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Gil. It's just a bruise," Sara assured him.

She knew that he wasn't convinced but she didn't know what else to say. She shrugged and he rubbed his hands up and down her arms.

"Hey, let me make you breakfast," she said hopefully, "Sam is still in San Francisco, he won't be in for a couple of days. I came in with all of our things to make sure they got into the house and I don't like being there alone all the time. Why don't you come over after shift and I'll cook for you."

Gil raised an eyebrow at that, "Sara, I don't think that's such a good idea. Especially if Sam isn't going to be around."

Sara's face flushed slightly, "Oh."

"Hey, it's not that I don't want to spend time with you, honey," Gil said immediately, "It's just that, after the last time, I don't-"

"I miss you, Gil."

That did it. That one sentence and he knew that he would be seeing her for breakfast in a few hours.

"Leave the address with Judy at the front desk," he told her, pulling her into a quick embrace, "I'll see you at eight o'clock."

Gil pulled his truck up in front of 1390 Easter Pine at exactly eight o'clock. The house in front of him was quite large, especially for two people. The porch wrapped around the front reminded him of his mother's house in Marina Del Ray and the dark green shudders made the cream colored siding seem more appealing. The yard was simple and it reminded him of Sara somehow.

He got out of the truck and approached the front door. Finding it open, he rang the doorbell and looked around the interior for Sara.

"Coming!"

Her voice drifted through the house and the sound of dogs barking suddenly became very loud. He took a step away from the screen door, seeing two very massive canines making their way toward him.

"Roxy! Velma! No, stay."

Sara reached the door before the dogs and they both continued their assault from behind her. She swatted them away as she opened the door for him.

"Sorry," she said, smiling as he came in, "New house, new neighborhood, they're excited."

Gil shrugged, "It's all right. I didn't know that you had dogs."

"We didn't until a couple of weeks ago," Sara explained, moving away from the door and into the kitchen, "Sam didn't like me being in the house alone so we got the girls here."

The two large dogs, both of which Gil had decided were Great Danes, followed him closely as he followed Sara into kitchen. She gestured for him to sit at the breakfast bar as she went to the fridge.

"So, how long have you been in town?" he asked, noticing there were no unpacked boxes in sight.

"Um, since last Tuesday?" Sara asked, "I think. It was the tenth, so yeah, last Tuesday."

"You've been here for more than a week?"

"Yeah," Sara said, "Why? Mad that I didn't come see you sooner?"

He laughed at her when she threw a glance over her shoulder.

"Damn straight. You should be ashamed of yourself," he said in his most serious tone, "I should have been your first priority."

Sara chuckled softly as she began pulling out pots and pans to start their breakfast. She continued working over the stove, her back to Gil as she cooked. They kept their conversation light, talking about the things that they hadn't recently been able to keep up on.

"How's work? Any interesting cases recently?" Sara asked.

"Mmm, definitely. Let's see, did I ever tell you about the man dressed in the raccoon suit who was hit by a car on I-15?"

Sara turned and raised an eyebrow at him, "No… I don't think so."

Grissom laughed at her look, "Catherine and I worked the case. We get a call out to, what looks like, a vehicular accident out on I-15. We're examining the scene, trying to figure out what on earth this woman hit with her car. Cath found paw prints on the side of the road and we're both thinking that maybe a dog or wolf got in her way, but instead, we find a man in a blue raccoon suit."

Sara put her hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh and Grissom couldn't help laughing at that. She couldn't contain her laughter then and she had to sit down at the breakfast bar beside him. When she realized that the eggs were burning, she went back to the stove, her back to him again.

"A week, huh? So that black eye, is it more than a week old?" Gil asked.

Sara stopped stirring but she didn't turn to look at him.

"Gil…"

"Don't lie to me, honey," he said, standing and moving toward her, "Did Sam hit you?"

Sara flinched at the accusation in his words. He took a hold of her chin, forcing her to look at him. The pain in her eyes made his heart ache and she pulled away from him.

"It's none of your business, Gil," she snapped, "Leave it alone."

"Sara, tell me what happened."

"No, Gil. I told you, I'm fine. Please, leave it alone," she urged, tears forming again, "It's just a bruise."

"It's not a bruise, Sara, its abuse," he said sharply, watching her turn her back to him then, "Sam is an ex-marine. If he gets out of hand, he could kill you!"

Sara grabbed the frying pan then and threw it in the sink. Something broke but they both ignored it.

"Get out, Gil!" Sara shouted, "Just get the hell out!"

The dogs started barking then and Grissom took a step toward Sara, taking a hold of her and pulling her closer to him.

"Sara, let me help you."

"The only way you can help me is to get out of my house."


	2. Sam, You're Home

A/N: Here's another chap. I know it took forever to get here but I promise, the next one shouldn't take so long. Again, I remind you, this is an AU. Sara is not the same Sara we know and love so I apologize if you don't like how OOC this is. AU, don't forget.

Sara sat at the bar, her long nails tapping her glass nervously. She had arrived a few minutes early in the interest of not being late, but she knew that Gil was punctual; he was always right on time. She glanced at her watch. Ten minutes more before he was supposed to meet her so she ordered another drink and waited.

"You look beautiful."

Gil's voice startled her and Sara turned slightly on her stool to face him. He was clean shaven, sporting a blue button down shirt under a dark grey sportscoat. God, she loved the way he looked in blue jeans.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she said, flashing him a smile as she stood and made her way toward him, "I'm sorry about the other day, I shouldn't have-"

"No, you had every right, Sara," he said, holding up a hand to silence her, "I'm just glad you agreed to meet me."

They faced each other silently for a moment, suddenly unable to take their eyes off of one another. Sara ran her palms down the front of her dress, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks. She glanced down quickly, trying to look anywhere but in his eyes. She studied her dress. It was satin, cool and smooth against the bare skin of her legs. The hemline fell just below her knees and she had bought it on an impulse that morning because she had been taken with the flirty flare of it.

"Shall we?"

Sara's head jerked up at the sudden sound of his voice beside her. She looked up and he held his arm out to her. She hesitated for a split second before linking her arm with his and allowing him to lead her to their table.

Sara laughed again.

"I missed this, Gil," she said lightly, "I missed being able to laugh like this. Sam and I-"

She stopped and dropped her eyes to her plate. Grissom reached over and rested his hand on top of hers, squeezing it lightly. She looked up and gave him a faint smile.

"With both of us working all of the time, it's hard for us to find time to just sit and talk and catch up…"

"How is work?" Gil asked, knowing that she wouldn't want him asking about her husband.

Sara shrugged, "I would like to be in a lab setting again, but classes at the college start on the twenty ninth, so I'll just be happy to be able to get out of the house for more than a couple hours at a time. It's hard to be there alone right now."

"I would think it was hard to be alone period, no matter neither the time nor the place," Gil said, looking down at his own meal.

Sara smiled lightly, "I'm sorry. I have no right to complain."

"I'm not complaining, Sara," he said shrugging, "I've had my chance to change the way I live and, I've let a few things pass me by, but I don't mind it. I made my decision."

Sara didn't speak for a moment as she stared off over Gil's shoulder. She felt tears brimming in her eyes and she blinked them back.

"Sam hit me, Gil," she said quite suddenly, not sure why the words had formed. She caught his gaze and the intensity in his eyes was enough to make her shudder. "It was only once, just before I left to come here… that's why he stayed behind in San Francisco, and I needed a break. He's apologized a hundred times and we've worked everything out."

"Sara-"

"Please, Gil, no lectures. I told you the truth, that's what you wanted," she said firmly, "Let me handle my life, please. Everything is fine, I promise."

Neither of them spoke for a long time. Sara pushed the remains of her meal around on her plate and Gil swirled the red wine in his glass. The house band was playing something soft and classical that Sara recognized as piece by Bach. The sound caused her mind to wander to a time when the tension between them was allowed.

She had been his student, young and eager, ready to learn everything that she could. She had once read an article about him. He was quoted as saying, "In order to understand forensics, you must know everything else first."

So there she was, a sophomore at Harvard, sitting in an auditorium with a hundred other students waiting to here Dr. Gil Grissom present on the topic of Forensic Entomology. He walked on stage and Sara was immediately taken with him. He couldn't have been more than fifteen years older than her, if that. His hair was a mess of brown curls and he was sporting a thin beard. _It made him look older, _Sara thought. She liked the beard. She immediately started wondering what it would be like to have her fingers in his hair, have his beard rubbing her skin as he kissed her.

It didn't take much for her to talk to him, she was honestly interested in his line of work. So they became friends slowly, meeting for coffee off campus sometimes, other times meeting in his office so he could show her an experiment he was working on. Eventually, they stopped talking about his work and her classes and their relationship was so much more personal than that. They started discussing everything. Life, death, faith. Nothing was left out.

Two months down the road, they had become closer. Spending a lot of time alone, holding hands when they walked. He'd even started kissing her goodnight. She loved his kisses. She waited patiently for them at the end of each night. But she started wanting more.

"Sara?"

Her head shot up again and she knew that her cheeks were burning red.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, "Lost in thought."

Gil smiled at her, "What were you thinking about?"

"Boston," Sara said simply.

His smile changed slightly and Sara noticed the flare of color in his eyes. He knew exactly what she'd been thinking about.

"Gil-"

"Sara-"

"I think we should go," Sara said quickly.

Gil nodded his agreement, dropping a bill on the table before standing up and reaching his hand out to her. She took it, locking eyes with him, and trembling at the hunger there. _This shouldn't be happening_, Sara thought, even as she allowed him to pin her to the side of his car and kiss her breathless.

"I love you, Sara," Gil panted, moving his warm mouth down the side of her throat.

She couldn't even think clearly enough to form words. His mouth continued its assault on her skin and she was struggling to keep breathing. Her hands found his hair, that familiar feeling she had longed for years ago, and dove in, pulling his mouth tighter to her throat.

"We're outside," Sara breathed suddenly, watching a couple walk into the restaurant they'd just exited.

Gil slowed his ministrations but he did not stop. He fumbled for a moment with his car keys, moving Sara aside to yank open the passenger door, only to shove her inside quickly. She watched him move around the front of the car and she could see the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he went. He climbed in beside her, not looking at her as he turned over the ignition and pulled quickly away from the restaurant.

They pulled up in front of Gil's townhouse without speaking a word to each other. He parked the car but neither of them moved for the door.

"Sara…"

She shook her head and reached for her door. He followed her lead, meeting her at the steps to his front door and they walked up together. He opened the door and let her enter the house first. She slipped off her shoes, moving slowly around on the cold concrete floor. It felt wonderful under the pads of her feet. She examined each of the display cases adorning the otherwise bare walls of his living room, smiling in appreciation at the specimen encased there.

Gil's arms slipped around her waste and she leaned back into him. His mouth moved back to her throat and she sighed happily.

"Are you sure about this, Sara?" he mumbled against her skin.

She considered what it was that she was asking. Was she sure that she wanted to make love with him? Did she want to cheat on her husband? Did she know what she was doing?

"Yes."

Early morning light poured in through the partially pulled drapes and Gil watched the way it dappled his bed partner's bare skin. She lay on her stomach beside him, her face buried in one of his pillows, her hair fanned out around her. She was sleeping soundly and he had been awake for the last hour or more, simply watching her in wonder.

It had been a long time since Gil had shared his bed with a woman. He hadn't been able to find anyone who suited him. None of the women he met at the lab interested him. They weren't smart enough. They weren't witty enough. They weren't pretty enough. They weren't _her_. Sara was the one he had wanted, since their first time together, he knew that she was the only woman he would ever want again. Sara Sidle, young, beautiful, brilliant, woman that she was, had stolen his heart the moment he'd laid his eyes on her in that auditorium.

But he had made the painful decision to let her go.

Someone had once told him that, the only way to know that you are loved wholly by a woman was to let her go. If she came back to you, she was yours. If not, it wasn't meant to be. Having her in his bed again, he knew, she was his.

He had let her go that day in Boston when she had told him she needed more. He had given up the one woman he wanted more than anything, in order to make sure that she really, truly loved him.

_She's married, Gil_, he scolded himself, _Sara may be in your bed, but she belongs to Sam Turner. That's what the marriage license says, anyway._

He lay on his side facing her, head propped up in one hand, while the other skimmed down her bare back. He ran his thumb over each and every knob of her beautifully long, curvy spine until it came into contact with the bed sheet that was pulled half way up her back. He pushed the sheet down a little, wanting to look at her completely, but froze at the markings he came in contact with.

Bruises. They were all over her lower back, a long line of them, as though she had been leaning against a counter for hours. Either that or someone had slammed her into it. He lowered the sheet more, finding more bruises on her butt in the shape of a hand. He laid his own hand there, realizing that the prints on her skin were definitely male and he hadn't laid a hand on her ass.

Gil pulled his hand away from her as though he had been burned. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling, trying to decide what line of action he should take. His first instinct was to drive to San Francisco, track down her husband, and kill the son of a bitch. But he took a deep breath and blew it out harshly. He couldn't do that. It was the last thing that Sara would want him to do, not that she would even really know what was good for her if it hit her in the face.

He sat up then, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, and making a quick scan of the floor for a pair of pants. Finding the pair of jeans he'd worn to dinner, he pulled them on and made his way across the room, hesitating at the door.

He took in the sight of the woman in his bed, wishing with all that he was that he could take her away and protect her from Sam Turner forever. He turned and left the room.

"Jim, its Gil. I need a favor."

Gil was pacing in his living room, his cell phone pressed tightly to his ear. He hadn't meant to call Captain Jim Brass, but he had no where else to turn. Jim was his closest friend and would lead him in the right direction.

"This is a huge favor, Jim. And I need you to keep it to yourself."

"Of course, Gil," Jim replied, "What's up?"

"I need you to run a background check for me," Gil told him, "I need the medical records for Sara J. Sidle. It's possible that it will be listed under Sara J. Turner, but I need both sets of records."

"Wait," Jim said quickly, "Sara? Your Sara?"

"Yes, Jim, the same one," Gil said tersely, "Just get the records and call me back. I'm going to see what I can find on her husband."

"Gil, what's going on?" Jim asked before Grissom could hang up on him.

"I'll explain later," he snapped, "Just get the files."

Gil snapped the phone shut and pocketed it. He was still pacing the length of his living room but he had slowed slightly and his breathing was evening out. He glanced absently down the hall toward his bedroom door. Sara was still lying there, sound asleep, behind the closed door, safe for the moment. Images of her marred skin flashed in the back of his mind and his hands fisted and unfisted. She had been beaten. She was a victim. He had to help her.

He moved quickly to his desk and sat down. He pulled up multiple databases and began searching for any criminal record that Sam Turner might have.

Sara padded her way down the hall, pulling Gil's shirt tighter around her. She'd woken up naked and alone. Her first reaction had been to call out to him but instead she'd found his discarded shirt from the night before and gone in search of him.

When she came into the living room, his back was to her. He was sitting on the couch, a case file open in front of him, and he didn't seem to know she was there.

"Gil?"

He turned to her then, his eyes taking in the sight of her in his clothes.

"Morning," he said gently, "Sleep well?"

She nodded, watching him stand up and move over to her. They didn't break eye contact as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his chest. She tilted her face up to him and he noticed the slight sheen of tears in her eyes.

"Is everything all right, honey?"

He kissed her cheek and felt her shiver. Sara shrugged, laying her palms flat on his chest and resting her head against his shoulder.

"Everything's fine, I guess," she said quietly, "I need to go, soon."

Neither of them said anything for a few moments and Sara pulled away slightly. She looked up into his eyes and he saw the pain reflecting in hers. She turned her head away, breaking their connection, and stepped completely out of his arms.

"Please, Gil, I need to go home."

He nodded then and moved away from her.

"Get dressed and I'll take you to your car," he said softly, turning her in the direction of his bedroom and moving away in the opposite direction.

They sat silently in the space of Gil's car. He had pulled the car into the restaurant parking lot over twenty minutes before, shutting off the engine, and simply sitting. Sara hadn't made a move to exit the vehicle and he hadn't said a word to keep her where she was.

"I don't understand why I can't stop," she said softly.

He glanced over at her, a question in his eyes at the sight of tears on her cheeks.

"I can't stay away from you, Gil," she explained, turning to gaze out the window, "My heart is telling me one thing while my brain is telling me something entirely different. As a scientist, I know that I should listen to my brain but the pain in my heart just won't let me. I love you too much. I can't let that go."

"I love you, too, Sara," he told her, reaching for her hand. He took it and she squeezed his in response, not turning to look at him as she did so. "That won't ever change. If you need me, for anything, please, call me."

"I love my husband."

Gil didn't say anything but he wasn't sure who she was trying to convince, him or herself. He squeezed her hand again before reaching up to brush a stray tear from her cheek.

"You can still call me, Sara."

She nodded and reached for the door, exiting his car slowly and getting into her own. He waited for her to start the ignition and pull away before leaving the restaurant in the direction of his townhouse.

Sara pulled up in front of her house more than two hours after leaving Gil at the restaurant. She had decided that stopping for groceries would take her mind off of the events of the night before. It hadn't done any good but she had done some of her shopping and would be able to take a shower and clean up the house a little. Not that it really needed to be clean, she was the only one living there, apart from Roxy and Velma. There was no one there to make a mess.

She shut off her car and was in the process of taking the shopping bags out of the backseat when she heard the front door slam. She stopped what she was doing, turning quickly toward the front of the house.

Sam.

"Sam, honey, what are you doing here so soon?" she asked, feeling her entire body beginning to shake, "I wasn't expecting you for a couple of days."

He was angry, she could see it in his eyes, and she flinched as he came impossibly close to her, pressing her back against the side of her car.

"Where the hell have you been?" he breathed against her face.

"I went to the store," she told him.

"In a dress I've never seen before?" he snapped, "At four in the morning? Don't lie to me, damn it!"

Tears formed in Sara's eyes and she braced herself for the blow of his hand as his open palm came in contact with her cheek. Her back dug a little deeper again the side of the car, the door handle pressing low against her spine.

"I come home in the middle of the night to find my house empty? My wife gone! Do you think I'm stupid, Sara? Do you think I wouldn't figure out what you've been doing? Why you wanted to take a break?"

As each question came out of Sam's mouth, his hand struck her again. Her knees were weak from fighting and his body pinning her to the car was the only thing keeping her up. The bitter copper taste of blood filled her mouth and she cried harder. It was only when Sam's fist met her temple that Sara felt her body shut down…


End file.
